Arthur Fils is a young French tennis player who challenged Rafael Nadal after finishing second at the Next Gen Finals.
At the Next Gen Finals final, Arthur Fils (ranked 39 ATP) lost 2-3 to Hamad Medjedovic (Serbia) ranked 111 in the world.
After this defeat, Arthur issued a challenge to Nadal on the former world No. 1’s favorite court: “Maybe not in the first round, or I can face him in the final. That looks good to me. If at 19 I can stop Nadal at Roland Garros, that would be great.”
Faced with the challenge of this young tennis player, the former world No. 1 suddenly invited the French tennis player to his academy to practice. This week, the Spanish tennis player will go to the academy located in Kuwait and practice with Arthur for a week before attending the Brisbane ATP 250 (Australia) in early January 2024.
With Nadal’s wonderful invitation, the 19-year-old tennis player expressed: “He invited me very kindly. I was very happy and very surprised when he asked me to practice with him. It is very important for I get to play with one of the best players of all time.
I’ll do the best I can for him, but I’ve got a great season ahead of me so I’ll do it for myself too.”
2023 is Arthur Fils’ first professional season on the ATP system. Closing the season, the young French tennis player increased 214 places to enter the world’s top 50, ranked 36th. Arthur’s record last season was 23 wins and 18 losses.